Tempranillo blanco: the grape that changed colour without asking

20 October 2026 · Vikipedia

Curiosity · Vine or grape variety. “White Tempranillo” might sound like a printing error. Or a marketing meeting that went on too long. Yet the variety exists, and its origin is rather more interesting: a spontaneous mutation observed on a red Tempranillo vine.

DOCa Rioja dates the discovery to 1988 in Murillo del Río Leza. A shoot bearing white grapes appeared on an old vine. The surprise was in the plant, before anybody reached for a press or decided how to make the wine.

A mutation is not a cross

A cross combines genetic material from parents through sexual reproduction. Here we are discussing a variation arising in a plant’s tissue: a different shoot within a vine that already existed. It was not a planned breeding programme designed to create a new white grape.

That distinction explains how something new can appear without planting a new seed. Vineyards have lives of their own. Standing still for photographs does not mean their genetics are permanently settled.

What changed to remove the colour?

The team investigating its genome described DNA rearrangements and losses of genetic material affecting the ability to produce the pigments responsible for skin colour. In plain language, part of the machinery that enables a grape to develop dark skin had changed.

This is not someone removing colour from finished wine. Nor is it a red grape picked while still green. Tempranillo blanco is plant material that produces white grapes, and vegetative propagation allows that characteristic to be maintained.

So is it exactly the same Tempranillo, only white?

That image helps us remember the relationship, but taken literally it falls short. Researchers have also investigated consequences for fruit set—the process by which flowers become fruit—and responses to unfavourable conditions. Changing colour does not guarantee that everything else stays untouched.

Nor does it make the variety automatically better, worse or the answer to every vineyard’s problems. Genetics explains one part of the story. Growing it and making wine from it involve decisions that cannot be reduced to a joke about running out of ink.

How a novelty on one shoot becomes reproducible

Vegetative propagation uses material from a plant to multiply it. This preserves a selection without the genetic reshuffling associated with a new seed. Discovering an unusual shoot and establishing a cultivated variety are therefore different parts of the story.

An example helps: noticing an interesting characteristic is the discovery; checking it and multiplying the material carrying it allows growers to work with it. That does not mean every visible change on a vine instantly creates a variety ready for planting. Between surprise and vineyard establishment lie observation and work. Vines do not come with a “duplicate and publish” button.

White grapes and white wine are different questions

Here, the change concerns the plant and the colour of its grapes. Making white wine from certain black grapes raises another question: how the juice is obtained and handled. It does not turn the vine into a white variety or explain tempranillo blanco’s origin.

Returning to our Rioja guide places it alongside other varieties such as viura. Comparing them begins by recognising different grapes, not seeking a universal winner. Genetics has already brought an interesting story to the table; we do not need to organise a fight.

What to look for on a bottle

First check whether the wine is made solely from this variety or whether it forms part of a blend. Then investigate its place and production. A grape name cannot replace information about the particular bottle or promise a specific tasting experience.

The discovery worth remembering: something new in wine can begin with a single unusual shoot. In Murillo del Río Leza, that change eventually gave a variety its name. Sometimes a vineyard comes up with a more original proposal than the marketing department.

Sources and review

Expanded and reviewed on 20 October 2026. Origin checked against DOCa Rioja and the cited genetic research. Explanatory examples are our own; they do not describe a new experiment.